LEXINGTON, Ky. – In its second match in as many days, No. 45 BYU men’s tennis lost to No. 39 Minnesota, 4-0, in the consolation final of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Center Saturday.
“We had an opportunity to get the doubles point against a very physical team,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “There is no question that that would have helped our momentum going into singles.”
The Cougars (4-2) fell to the Gophers for their second-straight loss.
In doubles action, sophomore Andrey Goryachkov and freshman Jeremy Bourgeois led BYU with a strong victory over Leandro Toledo and Eric Frueh, 6-3, while fellow teammates Francis Sargeant and Sterling Galli fell to Jack Hamburg and Mathieu Froment, 6-2.
The Cougars had a shot at taking doubles, but freshmen Matthew Pearce and Jacob Sullivan were defeated in a close, hard-fought match versus Juan Pablo Ramirez and Franz Sydow, 6-5 (2).
The momentum swung in the favor of the Gophers as BYU fell in the first three singles matches to seal the outcome.
Bourgeois lost to Hamburg, 6-2, 6-2, while Sargeant lost to Toledo, 6-4, 6-1. It was his first singles loss on the season. Goryachkov put up a fight, going down versus Ruben Weber, 6-5 (3), 6-2. When the match was called, Pearce was down 2-1 in the third set against Froment with the match knotted at one apiece.
“They gave no ground during singles play with the wind at their backs and just beat us,” coach Pearce said. “We're a very young team and I'm pleased that we're 4-2 on the season, but this weekend showed that we need to keep working hard and improving to be an elite team. We're looking forward to returning home and getting back to work in preparation for Air Force and Denver, our regional rivals.”
The Cougars hit the road again for a showdown at Air Force, Friday at 9:30 a.m. MST. The following day they face No. 57 Denver at 4 p.m.
2014 ITA Kick-Off Weekend
Consolation Final
No. 39 Minnesota 4, No. 45 BYU 0
Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Center – Lexington, Ky.
Sat. Jan 25, 2014
Doubles: (Order of finish: 1, 2, 3*)
1- Jack Hamburg/Mathieu Froment (MINN) def. Francis Sargeant/Sterling Galli (BYU) 6-2
2- Andrey Goryachkov/Jeremy Bourgeois (BYU) def. Leandro Toledo/Eric Frueh (MINN) 6-3
3- Juan Pablo Ramirez/Franz Sydow (MINN) def. Matthew Pearce/Jacob Sullivan (BYU) 6-5 (2)
Singles: (Order of finish: 3, 1, 2*)
1- Leandro Toledo (MINN) def. Francis Sargeant (BYU) 6-4, 6-1
2- Ruben Weber (MINN) def. Andrey Goryachkov (BYU) 6-5 (3), 6-2
3- Jack Hamburg (MINN) def. Jeremy Bourgeois (BYU) 6-2, 6-2
4- Eric Frueh (MINN) vs. Juan Canales (BYU) 1-1 (Abd.)
5- Mathieu Froment (MINN) led Matthew Pearce (BYU) 6-3, 1-6, 2-1
6- Jeremy Lynn (MINN) led Aidan Carrazedo (BYU) 1-0 (Abd.)